International auto shipping to the United Kingdom
can be quite difficult. The website containing the information on their
rules and procedures is complicated and does not have all of the information in
one area, in regards to shipping vehicles. There are many, many rules and
things to know when shipping a vehicle to the United Kingdom. International
auto shippers can be a great benefit to those looking to ship to any of the
countries in the United Kingdom.
The United Kingdom is the name used when describing
the countries of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The
custom laws for all of these countries are the same and all follow the
information found on the UK custom’s website. Instead of attempting to
navigate their complicated import processes, it is a good idea to leave your
shipping to professionals. Not being fully versed on custom procedures
could result in an extended stay in a port, high fees or deportation of the car
or even yourself. The process of shipping to the United Kingdom is a
little different than shipping to other countries.
In order to keep drugs, weapons and environmental
threats out of a country, most countries have strict International auto
shipping policies. Vehicles were used for quite awhile to smuggle drugs,
weapons and other dangerous things (including people) into countries. In
order to avoid this, those wishing to ship their vehicles from America to the
UK must follow their strict procedures to the very letter. Vehicles are
broken down into a number of different categories and each and every vehicle in
port must be declared by their category. The main categories are cars,
trucks, goods vehicles, tractors, military, classics and their parts,
motorcycles, mopeds and cycles with a motor. After you have declared your
vehicle in one of these categories, you must then declare its
subcategory. For example, if you are importing a car you must first
declare it a car and then a station wagon or a sedan or whatever it is.
There is then a commodity code that needs to be
looked up. International auto shipping services have these codes readily
available or they know how to easily look them up and find out what they
are. Missing any information could mean an extended stay in a port and
those storage fees tend to be quite pricey. They can really break the
bank for someone looking to ship their vehicle because the fees are just so
high.
The UK has many fees to consider when thinking
about International auto shipping to their country. There are tariffs and
trade tariffs to consider. These tariffs must be paid in order to pick up
one’s vehicle. There are also fees to file paperwork, store a vehicle,
register a vehicle and more. Most of these fees are known by a good
shipping service and they can determine approximately what their customer owes
when shipping a vehicle to the United Kingdom. The fees are basically the
same whether one is shipping to England, Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales.
The best option for any American who isn’t already familiar with the ever
changing, complicated import procedures for the UK should contact a shipper
right away to alleviate some of the stress this process can cause.
There are forms that need to be had on hand when
importing a vehicle into the UK. More than likely those looking to import
are going to need a copy of import form C88. This important document can
be retrieved on the UK import website or through one’s International auto
shipping service. Sometimes when using an auto shipping service this form
isn’t even needed due to the high frequency with which the International auto
shipper travels back and forth from the port and the USA. This alone
alleviates a lot of the frustration an American may have when shipping their
vehicle.
There are many things that can happen once a
vehicle arrives in UK ports. The vehicle may be detained for any
reason. There will be extensive and thorough searches and
inspections. There may be a need for an extended hold. If a customer
chooses an unreliable shipping service something may go wrong and your vehicle
may be detained, resulting in high fees. Worse than that you vehicle may
be deported and you will be required to pay even higher fees to have your
vehicle returned back to the United States.
